Sport
16 April, 2025
Roos rampant in netball opener
Coach of Dimboola netball A Grade side Ant Toet said her side’s win over Minyip Murtoa on Saturday was pleasing.
Leading by eight goals after the first quarter, Toet said she used the break to give the girls a pat on the back and acknowledge everything from preseason was coming together.
Dimboola went on to extend their lead in every quarter, eventually winning 59 to 28.
Toet acknowledged the part heat played in the hit out, and hydration, in conditions like on Saturday.
"The first round, you don't have 31 degrees usually, you have it sometimes, leading into finals when players are 18 weeks into the season," she said.
"But the girls ran the game out well."
Their win came as the side only had one sub on the bench and one emergency.
"It's good if you have rolling subs, but it's hard if you need to move just one position because often that bench player can't just move straight there, so you need to rotate a lot of players," Toet said.
Toet recognised Maddison Marra, who played Centre and Wing Attack, for her efforts.
She said their lead towards the end of the game also meant they could experiment with positions.
"Nicole Polycarpou, most of her netball has been at goal shooter, but we haven't seen her in goal attack," Toet said.
"She played that entire last quarter out there and did well.
"Paige Glover played in defence in juniors, but we threw her in there in the last five minutes, just to look after the girls."
Best on court for Dimboola were Bridget Dorrington and Polycarpou.
Despite a strong start by Dimboola’s footballers, the Roos ultimately lost to Minyip Murtoa by 41 points.
Playing in front of a strong home crowd in Minyip, Dimboola controlled the tempo and kicked early goals via Jackson Calder, Jack Landt and Darcy Dubois.
The Burras worked their way back with multiple goals from Oscar Gawith and seized the lead late in the opening quarter.
With a loud crowd behind them, Minyip Murtoa upped the defensive pressure, limiting the Roos to one goal, while adding four of their own.
Goalscoring slowed in the second half, with Dimboola only adding one major in the third term.
With the heat affecting both sides, the field opened up allowing for more free flowing movement.
While the Roos were able to add four goals in the final quarter, the Burras added six of their own, putting the result beyond doubt.
Gawith was the game's top goal scorer with six majors, while Tim Mcintyre added four for the victors.
Tim Mackenzie was named best on ground for the Burras alongside Ben McIntyre, Kade Petering, Jake Ballagh and Liam Kidd.
Calder and Jayden Kuhne finished with three goals for Dimboola, while Jack Landt (two) was the only other multiple goal scorer.
